Before you start

Passport and an eVisa share code — or simply an Irish or British passport
A UK mobile number
A Belfast address, for a traditional bank
Proof of that address — a tenancy agreement, a rates bill or an employer letter

Step-by-step

1
Open a digital bank account on day one
Monzo, Starling, Revolut and others verify you from a passport photograph and a short video selfie, without proof of address. You get a UK sort code and account number within hours, which unlocks a tenancy, a salary and a phone contract.
Mobile appWho: YouDay 1
2
Establish who is liable for the rates before you sign anything
Where a rented property's capital value is £150,000 or less — and in every HMO — the landlord is liable for the rates, not the tenant. Above that the tenant is liable unless the landlord has entered an agreement with Land & Property Services to pay. Ask the agent in writing whether rates are included, and check the property's capital value on the LPS valuation list rather than accepting a verbal answer.
OnlineWho: YouBefore signing
3
If you are liable, register with Land & Property Services
Rates are billed by LPS, not by Belfast City Council directly, even though the council sets part of the rate. The bill is the regional rate plus the district rate multiplied by your capital value, and there is a single-occupant discount and a Rate Rebate scheme for people on low incomes. None of it is applied automatically.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
4
Ask HR for an address letter if you want a high-street bank
Most banks accept an employer letter confirming your address in place of a utility bill — and note that there will be no water bill to use, because Northern Ireland does not have one. Queen's, Ulster University, the health trusts, Citi, Allstate and Kainos all issue these routinely for international staff.
Via employerWho: You
5
Understand the banknotes before someone hands you one
Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank, Ulster Bank and AIB have historically issued their own sterling notes in Northern Ireland. They are worth exactly the same as Bank of England notes and are perfectly ordinary here — and shops, taxis and self-service machines in Great Britain frequently refuse them. Spend or swap them before you fly.
In personWho: You
6
Set up Direct Debits for everything recurring
Rent, rates, electricity, broadband and your phone all run on Direct Debit here. There is no water bill to set up. The Direct Debit Guarantee gives you a strong right to reclaim an incorrect payment from your bank.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
eVisa share code, unless you are a British or Irish citizen
Proof of a Belfast address, for a traditional bank
Employer letter, widely accepted as address evidence
UK mobile number

Things most newcomers don’t know

In Belfast the local property tax is frequently not your bill at all.

Northern Ireland law puts rates liability on the landlord where a rented home's capital value is £150,000 or less, and on every HMO. A large part of Belfast's rental stock falls under that line, so the advertised rent is often genuinely all-in for property tax purposes. Compared with an English city at the same rent, that is roughly £700–£1,300 a year you do not pay — and it is invisible in every cost-of-living comparison, which all assume Council Tax.

Source: nidirect — rates on rental properties

Rates are assessed on a 2005 capital value, not a band.

Land & Property Services values each home individually at what it would have sold for on 1 January 2005, and your bill is that value multiplied by the regional rate plus Belfast's district rate. There is no A-to-H banding, so two similar houses can differ, and you can look up any property's assessed value publicly — which is a useful sanity check on a rent before you agree it.

Source: nidirect — valuation of domestic properties for rates

Northern Ireland banknotes are a small, recurring nuisance in Great Britain.

Locally issued sterling notes are entirely normal here and routinely rejected by shops and machines in England and Scotland, who are not obliged to accept them. If you travel to a London office regularly, keep Bank of England notes back or use a card.

Source: community-reported

There is genuinely no water bill.

NI Water charges businesses but not households, and the domestic service is funded centrally. Newcomers keep waiting for a bill that never comes, and budget planners built for England overstate Belfast's running costs by several hundred pounds a year because of it.

Source: NI Water — your bill and our charges

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming you will be billed for rates when your landlord is the liable party — or the reverse.
Budgeting an English Council Tax figure for a Belfast flat.
Waiting for a water bill that does not exist in this jurisdiction.
Carrying Northern Ireland banknotes to a meeting in London.
Trying a high-street bank first, before you have any proof of address.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.